H.S. football: Big North Conference pushing group football championships

The Big North Conference continues to try to stretch the gridiron all over the state.

The newest proposal from Bergen and Passaic County athletic directors would allow for state group champions in football.

The proposal discussed at the Director of Athletics Association of New Jersey workshop in Atlantic City on Tuesday defines how a 14-week football season beginning the weekend after Labor Day would lead to group champions while allowing all schools in the state to play as many as 13 games per season.

Using 2014 as an example, the proposal sets the calendar:

Practice starts — Aug. 11

Labor Day — Sept. 1

Week 1 — Sept. 5-6

Week 8 — Eight-game regular season ends Oct. 24-25

Week 9 — First round of playoffs Oct. 31-Nov. 1

Week 10 — Second round of playoffs Nov. 7-8

Week 11 — State sectional finals Nov. 14-15

Week 12 — Group semifinals Nov. 21-22

Week 13 — Thanksgiving Day games Nov. 26-29

Week 14 — Group finals Dec. 5-6

Schools that did not qualify for playoffs would play games assigned by the state on Weeks 9 and 10 and could set up additional games Weeks 11-13.

Teams eliminated during the playoffs will be eligible for games added by the state or set up by athletic directors through Week 13.

Non-Public playoffs would be completed by Week 11. Non-Public schools may schedule additional games through Week 13, including playing out-of-state schools.

Big North president Denis Nelson, athletic director at River Dell, told the athletic directors that this proposal is meant to start a conversation on how best to accomplish the task calling for feedback from the rest of the state.

The proposal will be introduced to the NJSIAA Executive Committee in April. It will need the approval of the executive and football committees, as well as a two-thirds vote of membership at the annual June meeting to ratify a constitution change.